Clubs interested in signing Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld have until July 26 to do so, according to Football.London.
The Belgian international, who made 50 appearances for Spurs last season, signed a one-year extension to his contract in January which will keep him at the club until next summer.
In doing so, however, a clause was inserted which stated that Alderweireld could be sold for a cut-price fee of £25million this summer.
Football.London now claim that the deadline for that clause to be triggered is July 26, otherwise the 30-year-old will remain a Spurs player until at least January.
OPINION
If this report is true, it is certainly an interesting one and it certainly gives more clarity on the whole situation. Alderweireld’s future at Spurs has been up in the air for so long now that it is easy to lose track, but now we may finally have some closure on when we can – for now – expect the speculation to end. Manchester United were said to be keen on the centre-back last summer and there is a chance they still could be in this year’s end-of-season window, and it looks like they have little over a month to decide if they want him or not. Of course, another club could spap Alderweireld up and that could be that, the speculation could be over very soon. But while the rumours were rife last summer, they have gone a lot quieter this time round, and it remains to be seen if this tempting clause – which is like a carrot dangling from a stick – will be activated.